The Philippine women’s team sets out to accomplish this rare feat behind a solid mix of talented seasoned players and reliable recruits when it begins its bid against Thailand today before a huge cheering crowd in the 23rd Southeast Asian Games at the Marikina Sports Park.
The Filipina booters go up against the Thais at 6:30 p.m. in the compact five-team competition while Indonesia faces Malaysia in the first game at 4:30 p.m. Thailand and Myanmar, which shocked defending champion Vietnam, 1-0 ,in the opening day, led the division with three points each. Thailand outclassed Indonesia , 2-1, in the other game.
" We’ve seen our rivals in action and I think we can hold our own against them," said team manager Catherine Rivilla.
A win by the Pinay booters, who boast of three Fil-Ams in Miko Alley, Angeline and Patrice Impelido, will put the team within a win of earning the first ever medal in the single round-robin tournament.
In fact, the women’s team has focused on the mission at hand, having undergone seven months of intense and rigid training that included a 10-game tune up in Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore and a four-match series against a Hongkong side two weeks before the Games.
Head coach Marlon Maro, a member of the RP squad that finished fourth in 1991, believes his solid defense, anchored on Merle Acibar and Letecia Bautista, will hold and allow his attackers the space to mount spirited offensive thrusts on Thai turf.
Meanwhile, Philippine Football Federation president Johnny Romualdez and Marikina Mayor Marides C. Fernando are calling football aficionados and fans to wear red or white during the match to show support to the national team.
Romualdez also said a football caravan like the one set in Bacolod is being organized in Metro Manila to boost the morale of the national booters.